Scientists create an invisible black

Bridie Smith

There is a new black. It’s darker and much more mysterious - so mysterious that, according to scientists, you are unlikely to be able to see it.

Looking at the material has been described as being like staring into an abyss. It is apparently so confusing to the eye that if it was used to make, say, a little black dress, all that would be seen would be the arms and legs of the wearer - apparently floating around a dress-shaped hole.

Blacker-than-black Vantablack is so non-reflective it can make three-dimensional shapes seem non-existent. Photo: Surrey Nanosystems

The nanotube material, named Vantablack, absorbs all but 0.035 per cent of visual light - a new record according to the British scientists who created it.

Developed by Surrey NanoSystems and outlined this week in the journal Optics Express, the "super black" material has the potential for use in astronomical cameras, telescopes and infrared scanning systems.

Because of its ability to reduce stray-light, the sensitivity of telescopes improves, enabling stargazers to detect even the faintest stars.

There are also space and military uses - although those have been labelled top secret, with the manufacturer declining to elaborate when interviewed by The Independent this week.

Capable of being applied to both flat and three-dimensional structures as well as lightweight materials such as aluminum, the patented material will be launched at the UK’s Farnborough International Air Show.

Made of carbon nanotubes each 10,000-times thinner than a human hair, the blacker-than-black material is produced on sheets of aluminium foil. When crumpled, the uneven surfaces covered with the material become indistinguishable.